University System News:
www.bizjournals.com
State of Georgia now has $1 billion in construction projects underway
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Cranes have become a familiar feature of the landscape across Atlanta, particularly in Midtown. But evidence of the metro region’s post-Great Recession construction boom also can be seen in the southern end of downtown, where a massive judicial building is taking shape on Capitol Avenue at the former site of the Georgia Archives building. The $122.5 million Georgia Judicial Complex, which will house the state Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals starting next year, is by far the most expensive state building project now in progress. But the state also has another 100 projects worth nearly $1.1 billion under construction across Georgia, as the state works to keep pace with the needs of a growing population. …With Georgia public colleges and universities and the state’s technical colleges enjoying steady enrollment increases, the University System of Georgia and Technical College System of Georgia dominate the list of active projects. In fact, 15 of the 20 most expensive projects on the state’s punch list are university or technical college buildings. The list includes the renovation of the Price Gilbert Library and Crosland Tower at Georgia Tech, essentially one project being done in two phases at a combined price tag of $82.5 million, a new cancer research building at Augusta University being built at a cost of $62.5 million and a $53.7 million investment in a new campus for Lanier Technical College near Gainesville. “For the past 10 years we’ve had some real fluctuation,” said Alan Travis, assistant vice chancellor for planning and management for the University System of Georgia, referring to a two-year drop-off in the pace of construction in the immediate aftermath of the recession. …Travis said the university system has done three to four times as many renovation projects during the last five years during the previous five. “The [system] chancellor at the time, Hank Huckaby, took the position that we should increase our focus on taking care of the amenities we have before trying to build new space,” Travis said. However, building anew is sometimes the way to go, as with the ambitious construction in three phases of a new campus for The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business in Athens. The last phase of the project has been underway for about a year, and the work is budgeted at $39 million this year.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Georgia Southern student receives Student of the Year Award from Georgia Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_e6ea1491-6d1f-5a09-97e1-9eb9945f607f.html
By Bisola Oke, The George-Anne staff
A Georgia Southern University student will be awarded the Student of the Year Award from Georgia Association for the Education of Young Children Friday. Julissa Ortiz, senior child and family development major, will receive this award at Alpharetta on Oct. 5. In order to receive student of the year award, the recipient must be:
An outstanding student in a bachelor’s degree program, associate’s degree program or technical school diploma
Nominated by a professor
Studying either child development, early childhood education, special education or a related field.
Ortiz said that her professor, Alice Hall, Ph.D., who has had a deep impact on her stay at GS, was the one who nominated her for the award.
www.middlegeorgiaceo.com
Middle Georgia State Education Major Successfully Mixes Her Studies with Entrepreneurship
Sheron Smith
Once she became a junior at Middle Georgia State University, Allie Keel made the same discovery many students make when they begin taking upper-level courses: balancing a job with a full college workload is a challenge. But Keel had loved working at a small clothing boutique in Cochran during her freshman and sophomore years, a job that stirred her entrepreneurial spirit. She wondered if opening her own online shop would give her the flexible hours she needed to stay in that business while finishing her early childhood education degree. “I decided to take a leap of faith,” said Keel, 20, who grew up in Cochran.
www.ajc.com
AJC Celebrating Teachers honoree: Chelsea Cook
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/ajc-celebrating-teachers-honoree-chelsea-cook/d2yHSufPa6S44uAaQcCGsO/
By Fiza Pirani
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is proud to announce its annual community recognition program – the AJC Celebrating Teachers Awards. We believe the very best of the best are worth honoring and giving them the recognition they deserve. This will be a moment of significant pride for the honoree, their family and school.
With a love of gospel and vocal performance and a passion for teaching, Chelsea Cook has emerged one of DeKalb County’s most unique music educators in her eight years of service. The Clayton State University and Georgia State University graduate is best known for her “out of the box” xylophone ensemble arrangements, including her “Dynamic Dolphins” ensemble, which has performed at holiday tours at the White House, Sweet Auburn Music Festival, on Good Day Atlanta and more.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Students on the Armstrong campus create petition to save learning commons
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_d731eb49-a34a-5178-82ec-5d9f17610435.html
By Shiann Sivell, The George-Anne staff
A petition concerning the adjustment of the Armstrong Campus Learning Commons operating hours is circulating among Georgia Southern University students. As of Monday, the GS administration changed the operation hours of the Armstrong Learning Commons to 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Sundays. Originally the commons were open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays. The Learning Commons is an educational space that provides students academic needs such as printing, studying, remote or online education, tutoring, meetings and more. Apart from the Lane Library, which stays open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, the Learning Commons is the central location for group-study, many tutoring sessions and printing facilities for the students.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Number of emotional support animals on the rise at Georgia Southern
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/features/article_7048501b-e77a-58b4-b354-c5429cbe3206.html
By Tandra Smith, The George-Anne staff
The number of emotional support animals being registered on college campuses is on the rise and Georgia Southern University is no exception. According to records obtained by the GS records department, Spring 2018 saw the largest number of emotional support animals in the residence halls since 2013. Twenty-six emotional support animals and two service animals made one of eight Statesboro campus residence halls their home last year.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Georgia Southern installing emergency safety locks around campus
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_bd034bbc-16ea-56d3-9a58-0beef2daa336.html
By Brendan Ward, The George-Anne staff
Georgia Southern University has begun installing school safety locks in classrooms, conference rooms and laboratories around campus. The device allows for doors to be secured during an active shooter or intruder situation without having to lock the door from the outside with a key. According to the Office of Public Safety’s website, to secure the door in an emergency, the lock is flipped into the emergency position, so that it does not stick out beyond the door and the door is pulled shut until it latches. When not in use, the lock should remain in the normal position. The safety locks are being added to campus as a safety precaution, Kelly Nilsson, director of emergency management for Public Safety said.
www.wtoc.com
Building evacuated on Georgia Southern campus due to fire
http://www.wtoc.com/2018/10/05/building-evacuated-georgia-southern-campus-due-fire/
STATESBORO, GA (WTOC) – A building on Georgia Southern University’s campus has been evacuated due to a fire, Thursday night. According to the unversity’s Twitter account, authorities are on the scene at Freedom’s Landing Apartments on Lanier Drive. They say official reports indicate the fire started in a bathroom.
www.stripes.com
Unearthing names of Floridians who died in World War I, a century later
By MATT SOERGEL | The Florida Times-Union | Published: September 28, 2018
RIVERSIDE, Fla. (Tribune News Service) — The names were written on a parchment scroll in India ink, placed in a metal box inside another metal box, and buried under the bricks at Memorial Park almost 94 years ago. They are the names of 1,220 Floridians who died while serving in the military during World War I, and on Christmas Day 1924 they were put under a plaque honoring the war dead. …The Memorial Park volunteers quickly agreed; they worried about the three feet of water that surged into the park from the St. Johns during Hurricane Irma, but it’s too early to tell if that was what led to the corrosion. The Memorial Park group has been helped in its project by R.B. Rosenburg, a history professor at Clayton State University in Georgia, who since 2006 has been compiling a list of more than 4,500 men and women from that state who died during World War I. Hhe readily agreed last year to help make a list of the Florida dead too, working from war records. So far he’s found 1,568 names, service members from the Army, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard, white and black, men and some women as well.
Higher Education News:
www.ajc.com
How to access the new federal financial aid app
By Eric Stirgus
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited Atlanta Wednesday to show a mobile app that launched Monday that’s supposed to make it easier for prospective college students or their parents to apply for federal financial aid. Here’s how it works:
www.insidehighered.com
Colleges Use Technology to Help Students Manage Mental Health
As student demand for mental health services grows, more colleges turn to platform addressing student “wellness.” But mental health experts say these tools should supplement, not replace, in-person services.
By Lindsay McKenzie
There are students who struggle with issues such as anxiety and depression on every college campus. Some students will seek help on their own and find a mental health counselor or other health-care professional. But reaching students who are reluctant to come forward, or who don’t realize they need help, is another story. This is a challenge that Colorado State University and many other colleges are trying to address while balancing increasing demand from students who already use mental health services. …The college and the tech company developed YOU at College, a platform that gives students information on how to recognize mental health issues and access resources on campus that might help them. The platform doesn’t put mental health front and center, however, and it’s not marketed to students as a “mental health” tool. Instead, the platform addresses mental health as just one part of academic success and well-being.